HEADTEACHER Dame Jean Else was asked to take over the running of a SECOND school just weeks before she was suspended by council bosses.

Dame Jean was suspended from the top job at Whalley Range High School for Girls, Manchester, two months ago, after the council received a draft report from a two-year investigation by the Audit Commission.

Now it has emerged that just before her suspension Dame Jean wasapproached to take over at struggling Parklands High School, Wythenshawe, for 12 months.

She would have been the only head in the city to have responsibility for two schools at the same time.

The schools would also have shared a board of governors.

But the plan was never implemented. Suspended with Dame Jean were director of governance Stewart Scott and finance manager Maureen Ratchford, who is Dame Jean's sister.

Her board of governors was stripped of its powers.

Since then, she, the local education authority and the board of governors have submitted detailed responses to the Audit Commission's draft report.

They are now waiting for the publication of the final report.

Investigation

David Hart, general secretary of the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), believes the council's plans for a "federation" of schools headed by Dame Jean reflected her success and the faith that the city's education chiefs had in her talents.

In light of the revelation he is calling for her to be re-instated as quickly as possible.

He said: "This investigation has been dragged out for too long. It is time Dame Jean and her colleagues were back in the school.

"Remarkably, just before she was suspended she had been asked by the authority to take on the responsibility for Parklands High School. This says that the authority thought that Dame Jean is an outstanding head. They wanted someone to raise standards in other parts of the city of Manchester."

The Audit Commission investigation has looked into aspects surrounding the running of the school, including staffing, employment practices, interviews and contracts.

When the investigation was ongoing Dame Jean said she was confident that it would vindicate her and her school.

During her nine years as headteacher at Whalley Range the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grade GCSEs has risen from 16 to 46. Attendance levels have risen from 74 to 95 per cent.

Dame Jean was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the Queen's New Year's Honours in 2001 for her commitment to services to education.